With the 2013 NFL Draft set for April 25-27 at Radio City Music Hall in New York, NFL.com draft analyst Josh Norris is identifying the top prospects available at every position. Today, he presents an overview of the best pass-rushing defensive ends and outside linebackers. For a complete list of the rest of the positions, click here.

Pass-Rushing Defensive Ends

1. Ezekiel Ansah, BYU: Many concerns exist with Ansah's raw game, namely his inability to win with a counter move. That's difficult to dispute, but if he can learn to create space on his own, watch out. He has the best closing speed of any end and shows natural movements to go along with dependable run defense. Projection: Top 10

2. Cornellius Carradine, Florida State: Bjoern Werner and Brandon Jenkins drew a lot of praise in Tallahassee, but Carradine is the best of the bunch. His explosion off the ball and bend to work around blockers -- as well as his strong hands to work through them -- project very well in the NFL. His April 20 pro day will be critical to show how far he's come after a late-season ACL injury. Projection: First round

3. Datone Jones, UCLA: Jones' game is reminiscent of Justin Tuck's; the UCLA product can win on the edge with aggressive hand use and strength on first contact, or inside with quickness. He can't quite bend like other edge rushers, but Jones has the versatility teams covet. Projection: First round

4. Bjoern Werner, Florida State: Werner wins with snap anticipation and hand use around the edge. Expect the defensive end to play at a heavier weight in 2013 than he did this past season. Werner needs to have a more consistent motor in order to maximize his tools. Projection: First round

5. Damontre Moore, Texas A&M: This is one of the biggest conundrums of the entire 2013 draft class. Moore utilizes a great motor to chase down ball carriers, but admits to a poor work ethic off the field. He is not a great athlete, but Moore can maximize his potential with good use of hands and length. Projection: Second round

6. Cornelius Washington, Georgia: Washington was severely misused as a five-technique end in the Bulldogs' three-man front. When he was allowed to rush from the seven or nine alignment, though, he was tremendous. Therefore, this ranking is dependent on a role where Washington can use his initial explosion and strength on first contact, similarly to Trent Cole. Projection: Second round

Pass-Rushing Outside Linebacker

1. Dion Jordan, Oregon: Jordan fits best as a strong-side linebacker in a four-man front, but many will project him as a rush linebacker. He is already very comfortable and fluid in coverage and has the length, physical nature and closing speed to improve as a pass rusher. Projection: Top 10

2. Barkevious Mingo, LSU: In terms of raw tools, few surpass Mingo. However, his outstanding movement skills and lean frame did not add up to production in 2012. I think he was coached to take less aggressive pass-rushing angles and play more contain, but that is merely an educated guess. Projection: First round

3. Jarvis Jones, Georgia: Few prospects produced on a more consistent basis than Jones, who used snap anticipation and a great motor to chase down the quarterback. There will be questions about his frame and athletic upside, specifically in regard to counter moves and run defense. Projection: First round

4. Corey Lemonier, Auburn: The Auburn product is a bit of a tweener. He flashes good strength on first contact and fine closing speed, but appears to get lost due to backfield vision. Lemonier plays with good pad level, so putting him in space to start each play might be a good thing. Projection: Second round

5. Jamie Collins, Southern Miss: Another ultra-athletic prospect with upside, Collins is a smooth mover with a frame that offers room to grow. He fails to generate a lot of power on initial engagement, but makes plays when given space to operate. Projection: Second round

Say we are able to get Jones or Werner in the first round and Washington from UGA is there at 60 would you pull the trigger on two pass rushers? Or are we now obligated to go CB with how thin we have become at the position.

_________________The Young Gunner

Last edited by The Mattural on Fri Apr 05, 2013 3:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.

With potential holes at CB, LB, DE, RG, and RT, I have no clue at all what the Falcons are going to do. Before letting Clabo, Grimes, and Owens go, I felt like I had some idea of what the team's direction would be. Now, I'm pretty clueless. I'm pretty sure that there is a plan in Flowery Branch, but I don't think anyone outside of the branch knows what it is.

My guess would be that we intend to bring Abraham back, and that we will add offensive line help in the mid rounds of the draft. I still don't think that we will go after a pass rusher at #30. Normally, I'd call for OL with the #30 pick, but most of the mocks have the top guards and tackles going earlier in the 1st. Ultimately, I think that our pick at 30 won't be someone that we target, but rather, someone that drops, with CB, TE, and LB being the most likely choices.

I think the Falcons move to date have made sense in that they are releasing and not resigning aging veterans that may or may not have any gas left in the tank. In most instances they are high dollar veterans at that.

The team is putting a lot of trust in their depth chart as well... We do need to have a good draft and if Atlanta can do that then most the moves make sense.

a thought...what if TD traded down? Gives up our #30 pick to a desperate team? If I'm correct, then we would have 2 2nd round picks,2 3rd and 2 4th round picks. That's 6 players, and if you hit on .500 you get 3 immediate starters and 3 depth. ?

Say we are able to get Jones or Werner in the first round and Washington from UGA is there at 60 would you pull the trigger on two pass rushers? Or are we now obligated to go CB with how thin we have become at the position.

No if for no other reason than Washington is only a 4th round talent at best.

I'm 99.99% certain the Falcons will use one of their top 2 picks on a CB. I'm not however that certain that their 1st or 2nd rounder will be a pass rusher. And I should note for people, that I think Falcons are much more likely to draft a DT rather than a DE. I only say Werner because at Pick No. 30 I think he'd be too good a value to pass up, since at one point this year many considered him to be a Top 5 talent.

With Osi on the team, coupled with Massaquoi and Biermann, the Falcons immediate need up front is at DT, not DE.

fun gus wrote:

a thought...what if TD traded down? Gives up our #30 pick to a desperate team? If I'm correct, then we would have 2 2nd round picks,2 3rd and 2 4th round picks. That's 6 players, and if you hit on .500 you get 3 immediate starters and 3 depth. ?

We'd probably not get the deal you think we'd get.

Look at last year's late 1st round trades:

Denver (25th) and New England (31st) swapped picks, and NE gave up an extra 4th to move up.

Baltimore (29th) and Minnesota (35th) swapped picks, and MIN gave up only a 4th for it.

Then with NE's 31st pick, Denver moved back again, swapping with TB (36th) and they swapped 4th round picks (Denver moved up 25 spots in that round).

Now, if a team wants to move up from the middle/latter portion of Round 2, we might get the type of reward you're hoping for (3rd round pick).

But more than likely, if the Falcons move back into the top of Round 2 (probably for a team looking to get a QB ahead of Jacksonville at pick No. 33), they will likely only get a 4th round pick in exchange for it.

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